That’s the motion that was debated last week in London, at an event hosted by the Spectator and held at the Royal Geographical Society. And guess what — “the 700-strong sell-out audience voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion”!

Excerpt from The Catholic Herald:

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, author Piers Paul Read and Dom Anthony Sutch, former headmaster of Downside, spoke for the motion. Read More »

One of the commentators on the relevant CWN article expressed it well: “It’s past time someone said this. Too often ecumenism is taken to mean the weakening of the teachings of the Church and the addition of non-Catholic ritual and beliefs.” A-m-e-n-!

Past time is better than no time — or, “better late than never.” All the scandal that has transpired, and is ongoing, in the name of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue should cease at these words of Cardinal Levada defining its purpose (or “final cause” to you Aristotelians out there): “Union with the Catholic Church is the goal of ecumenism.” Read More »

When the enemies of the Church, the enemies of Christianity in general, and those who want to “hold” the Catholic hierarchy’s “feet to the fire” constantly jabber about Pius XII’s supposed complicity in the Nazi murder of Jews, it becomes necessary to defend the truth as well as the honor of the Holy Father. He was, after all, not only innocent of the crime of which he stands accused by an angry mob, but was also proactive in the protection of innocent Jews. That’s history. Catholics have a particular duty to defend the Church’s honor, but even secular historians of the era ought to vindicate Pius XII, if only to protect the integrity of their science. Read More »

How clever! Probably got a chuckle or two from the audience. The trouble is the speaker actually meant what he said.  Edward Schillebeeckx, O.P., summarized his theological legacy in these words in December 2008 at a symposium held in his honor at the University of Louvain in Belgium. He was ninety-four years old. He died one year later, on December 23. (Although Schillebeeckx was Belgian, most of his many years teaching and writing were in the Netherlands.) Read More »

Should we be surprised if the pseudo-mystical ecumenist babblings of neo-modernists lack coherence? I’m sorry if the question was abrupt in its asking. Let’s back up…

There’s this book review in NCR, “Praying to a God who is larger than religion,” which, I confess, I read. One might think the Dark Side has its allure, but there is neither proximate nor remote occasion of sin reading this drivel, unless your mind has been pre-digested by body-snatchers from Zork, or maybe the works of Richard McBrien — which are almost the same thing. Read More »

It seems that the prerogatives of the Holy See and its  bishop would trump certain modern notions of collegiality in the sainted mind of the Maid of Orleans. From the Trial of Joan of Arc, for 2 May, we read:

When it was explained to her what the Church Militant meant, and [she was] admonished to believe and hold the article Unam Sanctam Ecclesiam, etc., and to submit to the Church Militant, Read More »

A recent little talk I gave on the sin of schism — part of my comments on the Chair of Unity Octave — prompted a question from one of my auditors: “Is sedevacantism schism?” I had to reply in the affirmative.

In the last analysis, sedevacantists reject the jurisdiction of the Pope over the universal Church. While their schism is different than that of most schismatics — who reject his authority in principle — they have withdrawn themselves from communion with the Vicar of Christ. Since that is precisely what schism is, sedevacantists are in schism. Read More »

Thanks to the largesse of some benefactors who funded our plane fare, Brother Maximilian Maria and I recently spent two weeks in Rome. The trip, like my last year’s solo pilgrimage, was part “business,” and part “pleasure.” For that reason, I referred to it as a “working pilgrimage.”

I regret to say that I was unable to make regular reports to our web site from Rome. This was partly do to our activity-rich schedule, and partly due to logistical problems that precluded it; it’s simply too hard to get an Internet connection in Rome, at least we found it so. Read More »

Anglicanorum Coetibus has created a mechanism for bringing hundreds of thousands of Anglicans worldwide into the Church, so we can say that the “Anglican Front” is indeed a very active one. But, according to Sandro Magister, this development has pricked at certain sensitivities of the Orthodox, opening up activities on that front:

In Cyprus, the news that the Catholic Church is ready to incorporate groups coming from Anglicanism also put the Orthodox on alert. Read More »

CATHOLICISM is not only a matter: a truth to be told; it is also a manner: a way of telling it. Manner makes meaning quite as much as matter does. To say what Christ said, but not in the way He said it, (that is to say: without enthusiasm, determination, excitement, wonder, challenge, indignation, summons and alarm) is an evasion and an apostasy. The Christian Gospel is good news, but with an emphasis on the news. It is exciting enough to have had the Heavens open at Our Lord’s birth for its sake, and to have had angels in the sky shouting and singing it to shepherds. Read More »